DE 199 43 623 A1 discloses a gearbox unit for motor vehicles, by way of which a driving torque of a driving motor can be transmitted to at least one transverse vehicle shaft as a function of the operating state. The gearbox unit comprises a housing, a drive shaft and at least one driven shaft. Between the drive shaft and the driven shaft, a continuously variable transmission is provided by way of which a gear ratio between the drive shaft and the driven shaft can be continuously varied.
Additionally, a second transmission output shaft is provided, via which part of the driving torque of the driving motor can be transmitted to a second drivable transverse vehicle axis, wherein the second transverse vehicle axis is disposed such that it extends through an inside space of the housing of the transmission unit.
The disadvantage, however, is that no rotating components can be arranged in a cross-sectional area standing perpendicular in relation to the longitudinal axis of the transmission device in which area the transverse vehicle shaft that is guided through the housing of the transmission unit is arranged so that the cross-sectional area essentially is a space that cannot be used for the rotating gear components of the transmission unit. In the cross-sectional area of the transverse vehicle shaft extending through the inner space of the transmission unit, the transmission unit has unused volumes and/or dead space remaining free, which is not desirable. This dead space results in unnecessarily large outer dimensions of the transmission unit which, in turn, lead to a high space requirement for the transmission unit.
DE 199 50 047 A1 reveals a gearbox unit for a motor vehicle in which a transverse vehicle shaft is guided through the inner space of the gearbox housing, viewed in the transverse vehicle direction. With this gearbox unit, an oil supply system comprising a pump is disposed in the cross-sectional area arranged perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the gearbox unit in which area the transverse vehicle shaft that is guided through the housing is arranged.
The disadvantage, however, is that the pump of the oil supply system is a rotating component and the dimensions of the pump in the radial direction in the cross-sectional area of the transmission device are limited by the arrangement of the transverse vehicle shaft. Additionally, the ability to position the transverse vehicle shaft in the cross-sectional area of the transmission device is only possible in a radial ring section due to the rotating pump of the oil supply system, which section is delimited by the housing of the transmission unit and the housing of the pump so that the transmission unit can be used only to a limited extent in various motor vehicles having different constructions.
It is, therefore, the object of the present invention to provide a transmission device comprising a transverse vehicle axis extending through the housing of the transmission device, which device has a compact design and can be installed easily in various vehicle types.